a (sadly) very short collection of some of roy's essays on India. I'm ashamed to admit that apart from some vague knowledge of a few bits and pieces i basically knew shit about the situation in India before reading this so I'm just becoming aware of how much i don't know and can't make comments on accuracy or comprehensiveness. but it's a great introduction to some of the issues at stake. roy is a powerful and clear writer who never lets up in her criticism of the government. she's not exactly anti capitalist as far as i can tell, but i still feel she very much "gets it" and she's clearly sympathetic - she suggests some reformist stuff but it's pretty strong for reformism, especially in this day and age. she makes a few criticisms of the left but it's clearly a constructive kind - she mentions the silence on a few topics and the problems experienced when contradictions developed and holding together groups with different priorities and the failure to properly respond to feminism or understand caste which led to splits which impoverished both sides. there's nothing about the naxalites here but she talks about their use as a bogeyman to smear even reformists with - people working for justice in kashmir being arrested as "Maoists" arbitrarily. she talks about the mass death the past half century of capitalist development has forced on the people of India (hence a ghost story) - the suicides of farmers, the mass forced migration, the destruction of villages. she talks about the way ngos and corporate foundations and funding are used to defang and buy off radicals. it's very good all round and powerful reading

she mentions occupy a few times and it's kind of weird in retrospect but i admire the optimism ( )

As my friend David said, the structure of this book is rather, errrrr..., unstructured. But the content is compelling. A brave woman.

As the preface suggests, the book is a lacerating punch back against the severe inequality and violent injustice due to the effects of capitalism. And of course just using the word “capitalism” can seem general and vague, but the demands of capitalism as we know entails a great amount of intervention into aspects of social and political spheres in the interest of corporate profit. It’s sinister. And when we look at the human cost.. it’s frankly evil.

She starts off with an image of the biggest house in India, called Antilla, that’s owned by the richest man in India called Mukesh Ambani. It cost US$1 billion & has a staff of 600 to upkeep. It has six floors of parking space, 27 floors in total, three helipads & nine lifts. At the same time this building exists, 80% of people living in India subsist on US$0.50 or less!

She reveals the intricate connections between endowed organizations, NGOs, and the effect they have in politics. All of the power being enacted here is done through the exchange of money, and the tacit, soft power approach of deciding what gets to be considered as “acceptable” in the realm of political stance and charity. NGOs or groups that are working on more “radical” projects or causes do not get funding, are marginalized, and some eventually are unable to continue. All the while, the limits of conversation or how we think about resistance is being shaped.

Adding on to the issue of class is the fact a lot of the disenfranchised and the dispossessed are Dalits and Adivasi. But they & the figures related to their lives (or deaths) are inconsequential to the rapid growth of capitalism, the rich, & the government.

She goes on to talk about corruption as well, and the corruption featured here has a lot to do with the way the government wants more privatisation, something that will not end well for those who are basically not rich. The way geo-politics of India and Pakistan are handled is featured strongly as well — The way evidence is blatantly fabricated to falsely indict an innocent man, and how the courts do not punish police found to have made false evidence; the thousands that have died in undignified ways; civilians killed and then simply called “terrorists” so their murderers can escape unscathed. The border of Kashmir is patrolled by 500,000 soldiers — the most highly militarized place in the world.

And of course she knows she can afford to say it due to her position. She’s visible, has international standing, is middle-class, and knows that she can stick her neck out, so she does. In fact she mentioned that there is a law that made it an offence to say anything about the state’s illegal activities that would result in “disaffection,” against the state (and of course a lot of illegal activities by the state is in relation to Kashmir) & she has certainly willingly decided to break this absurd law. ( )

She is clear, sharp & poetic. This book is all about India, but it's interesting to read about the "world's largest democracy". ( )

As my friend David said, the structure of this book is rather, errrrr..., unstructured. But the content is compelling. A brave woman.